I'm back

Dupa o lunga absenta, am revenit pe blog. A trecut deja o saptamana de cand sunt in SUA. Am ajuns in Boston dupa multe ore petrecute in avion si in aeroportul din Budapesta. A fost primul meu zbor cu avionul, dar nu am avut probleme. Decat ca parca nu mai ajungeam odata!
Cand am ajuns in Boston m-a intampinat Emily cu steagul Romaniei. Ea si sotul ei( aproximativ 70 ani) sunt familia pe care facultatea mi-a dat-o pentru cei patru ani pe care ii voi petrece aici. Momentan stau la ei, pana marti cand ma mut in campus pentru "orientation". Am o camera mare cu geamuri pe 3 pereti(!), baie proprie (am un geam mare si acolo), si dulap urias pe care nici daca as vrea nu l-as putea umple.
Revenind,am ajuns in New London seara, la 11, si m-am pus direct in pat. A doua zi m-am trezit la 5 si nu am mai reusit sa adorm la loc. Am mai lenevit in pat si dupa micul dejun am primit un program cu activitatile pe care Emily le-a pregatit pentru mine pentru intreaga saptamana.
Programul nu l-am respectat in totalitate, dar vreau sa va zic ca saptamana asta cred ca am facut cunostinta cu cel putin 100 de persoane si daca am retinut 5 nume e bine, puteti sa ma felicitati. Memoria mea nu era excelenta nici inainte, dar vreau sa va zic ca am inceput sa imi fac griji. Imi voi exersa memoria zilele astea si o sa scriu ce am mai facut saptamana aceasta.

Book assignment

Bill, the teacher that will be accompanying the group to France, is a Biology teacher. After e-mailing us some useful advice related to packing and Strasbourg, he decided to hit us with an academic e-mail. Basically, he gave the group an assignment. He presented us with a list of 24 books from which each of us had to pick one and read it. Later on, he would give us instructions on how to analyze it and how to write about it.
The book I picked is called The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives. Interesting title and a seemingly very good content. Plus, Mr. David Bainbridge(the author)

debunks once and for all Aristotle's notion that maleness, and hence the Y chromosome, is a more active, superior state of being, and instead hails the X chromosome as more profound, interesting and powerful-not just more than its "sad, shrunken" Y counterpart, but more than any other chromosome in our cells.

Of course my choice was biased and I am anxious to read the book after reading the editorial review above from Amazon.com. Maybe this book will provide me with some strong arguments when trying to convince my male counterparts that women are indeed better. (Sorry guys)

Here's the entire list:
1.The Measure of All Things.
2.Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible
3.The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives
4.Time Lord: Sir Sanford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time
5.The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession and the Last Mystery of the Senses
6.Calendar, Humanity’s Epic Struggle to determine a True and Accurate Year
7.Aquagenesis
8.Measuring the Universe
9.The Prophet and the Astronomer
10.Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension
11.Parallax: The Race to Measure the Cosmos
12.Shrinking the Cat
13.The Northern Lights
14.Salt, A World History.
15.Madness: A Brief History
16.The History of Pain
17.Longitude
18.Eclipse
19.Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
20.The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel’s Peas to Designer Babies
21.The Gene Masters
22.The Double Helix
23.The Map That Changed the World
24.A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

Shopping session

4 August
Portofel centura (cica asa se numeste in romana, de la Auchan citire)/money belt - 22.4 RON/ approx 7.5 USD
Flash drive memory stick - 55 RON/ approx 19 USD
Mouse - 27 RON/ approx 9 USD
Casti cu microfon/ headset - 31 RON/ approx 10.5 USD

Urmatorul pe lista/ next on my list:
laptop - 650 USD